Studies how shown that the relevance of sleep in maintaining good health and well being throughout people's lives cannot be overemphasized. Studies have also shown that the amount of time people need to sleep to stay healthy and active depends on their age and varies from individual to individual.
Most adults need at least seven or more hours of sleep each night, while toddlers need more to function properly.
The National Sleep Foundation (NSF) and a panel of 18 experts combed through more than 300 studies to identify the ideal amount of time a person needs to sleep according to their age:
As a matter of fact, another study suggests that getting adequate quality sleep at the right times can help protect mental health, physical health, quality of life, and safety.
However, it is important to note that the damage that comes with not having enough sleep, regularly, can either occur in a moment or build up over time.
According to Dr. Zee, too few hours of sleep or poor sleep could pave the way to a myriad of emotional and physical problems, from diabetes to obesity. Adding that sleep loss may also lead to changes in the way the body handles glucose, which could lead to a state of insulin resistance (prediabetes).
Ongoing sleep deficiency can increase risk for some chronic health problems, as well as affecting cognitive ability during, work, learning, and getting along with others.
Be that as it may, certain reasons that result in sleep loss include life issues regarding marriage or divorce, children, employment, and money.
Other causes include sleep disorders, substance abuse, depression, and medical problems like epilepsy and heart disease.
However, to improve quality of sleep one needs to adopt certain best practices including:
Adhering to the same wake and sleep schedule every day, powering down electronics at least an hour before bed, keeping the room you snooze in on the cool side (between 60 and 67 degrees is ideal, and sticking to a relaxing routine before bed.
